


Summer Festival

by mofumanju



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, implied eichia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-08-14 05:33:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8000398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mofumanju/pseuds/mofumanju
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Here.”<br/>“What.”<br/>Eichi’s lips are bent in a smile, in his eyes the same glimmer children have before their favourite toy, before a giant ice cream ready to go straight in their tummy. He’s holding a flyer, and Keito takes it and lets his eyes wander on it as if he were reading his death sentence.<br/>“There is a festival tonight. I want to go,” and it’s an order, more than a request, and Keito is already tired.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summer Festival

**Author's Note:**

> self indulgent eichia written after yui sharing headcanons too cute to be ignored. Enjoy!

“Here.”  
“What.”  
Eichi’s lips are bent in a smile, in his eyes the same glimmer children have before their favourite toy, before a giant ice cream ready to go straight in their tummy. He’s holding a flyer, and Keito takes it and lets his eyes wander on it as if he were reading his death sentence.  
“There is a festival tonight. I want to go,” and it’s an order, more than a request, and Keito is already tired. He sighs, his right hand holding his head while he reads the flyer repeatedly. Eichi’s smile broadens, a cute dimple appearing on his right cheek.  
“Come on, it’s summer holidays. You can’t spend the whole day working for the Student Council, you need a rest. And I need to go out as well, it’s being a while now.”  
“The doctor said-”  
“The doctor says many things.” Eichi frowns, putting his hands on his hips and bending over Keito to take the papers he was working on from the desk. “I’m fine. I can do it, really. It’s not even that hot so… please?”  
Eichi pouts, and in that very moment he knows he is winning the round and, probably, the war. Keito takes off his glasses to massage the bridge of his nose, defeat lingering already upon his head.   
“If you die don’t blame it on me.”  
“I won’t,” and he smiles fondly, hugging his neck. “Thank you.”

Eichi doesn’t remember the first summer festival he had taken part on, but he’s pretty sure that it also was the last one he experienced with his own eyes. Their parents never allowed him to go out of his room if not for attending school and medical checks, and the too many times he tried to escape home he was always catched before he was even able to cross the garden. And Keito might think that he’s acting more childish than usual today, but well, he doesn’t care that much at the moment.   
He feels like this is the very first time he lands his feet on a summer festival, and in some way it is. He spreads his arms and breathes, his lungs filling with air made sweet by the scent of candies from the booths around him, and salty by the sea surrounding the mainland.   
“Aah, I love it,” he says clapping his hands, before he starts to wander between the booths without being able to stop smiling. He feels refreshed, as if illness wasn’t a constant in his life. “I want to buy everything.”  
Keito sighs behind him - he can’t see him, too focused on the taiyakis before him and licking his lips, but he can well imagine his expression. He wonders if he never stop worrying about everything, that boy.  
“Don’t stray too far from me, I don’t want to spend all the evening looking for you.”  
Eichi leans the money to the gentle woman on the stand, taking two taiyakis and offering one to Keito: “Maybe we should hold hands, just to be sure.”  
And he laughs, when Keito avoids his eyes and surpasses him, going forward at a quick pace. Eichi stops for a moment, taking a bite on the sweet before walking again. He hopes Keito knows how much Eichi is thankful for the things he does for him - he would tell him, everyday, in every moment, but he is sure Keito wouldn’t appreciate much the feeling of embarassement that would follow. So he just smiles and teases him whenever he can.  
Keito knows that is his way to say thanks. 

Still, he can hear Keito screaming even if he has just disappeared from his range of vision, now surrounded by a crowd of people who seem to be completely deaf to his voice. “I’m sorry-” he keeps asking, but everyone walks so slowly, in that narrow place, that Eichi is not able to go through them and reach Keito, wherever he is.   
Fantastic.   
Oh well. They will meet again, eventually. Maybe it is a sign from God himself, maybe it is his chance to enjoy the moment, and spend a little bit of money on delicious food and funny games without his best friend scolding him at every breath. He never tried to catch a golden fish, after all. Still, his hands are already stuffed with so much food that he couldn’t play, anyway, so he just keeps walking, whistling as he looks for Keito among the crowd.   
“Don’t cry, we’ll find them, okay?” Eichi hears behind his back, and when he turns around to see where the voice comes from, he sees the familiar face of his classmate under a tree, holding a child with swollen eyes and red nose on his arms.   
“Oh, Chiaki?” he calls, and the other raises his head and looks at him, his face shining with a smile as they eyes meet.  
“Tenshouin! What a surprise to see you around here!” he waves his hand, as Eichi approaches him. “Are you alone?”  
“Mh, I was with Keito, but I have lost him. Is he yours?” he asks, smiling as he lends a lollipop to the poor child. Must be a miracle, how he suddenly stops crying, and looks at Eichi as if he was his saviour.   
“Woah, I didn’t expect you to be this nice to children. And no, I’ve just found him, he was crying and… seems he has lost his mother.” He shrugs, looking at Eichi. “So now I’ve to deal not with one, but with two lost children?”  
Eichi laughs, as he brushes the child’s head. “It’s you chance to show me your talent as a hero.”  
Chiaki is so simple-minded that Eichi feels a bit guilty, when his face shines again with a bright light, a smile that eats half his face. “I, Morisawa Chiaki, will help you find your caretaker and save you from despair!”  
“Aah, save us, my hero.” And he laughs again, shaking his head and offering him a snack. “With your stomach full it will be easier.”  
“I’ll get my reward when I’ve handed you back to your parents,” Chiaki says, and he looks so convinced of his own words that Eichi can’t help to smile a bit wider, as he nods and takes place by his side. 

Chiaki would make a great father, Eichi thinks as they move through the crowd: he never let go of the child - they look quite similar, now that he pays more attention: their hair color matches, and if Eichi didn’t know they were not related, he would have thought they were brothers. Since Chiaki’s hands are busy holding the child - he didn’t ask for his name and Chiaki didn’t tell him, so in his mind he simply became little Chiaki - Eichi is buying them each item the little one puts his eyes on, so much for his delight. Chiaki doesn’t complain, even if he whispers a “you should stop wasting your money” once in a while.   
The problem is that Eichi doesn’t really want to stop. In fact, he’s enjoying himself a little too much - he feels happy, and a bit too excited. If Keito was with him, he would probably force him to go back home, and he couldn’t have blamed him.   
But he’s having fun, for the first time in a while. The smell of fried squid, the lanterns enlightening the way and all those voices, all those laughs, everything tastes like freedom on the tip of his tongue. And it’s something he has never truly tasted until that moment, so how could he blame himself for feeling so happy?   
Chiaki turns to look at him, a trace of concern in his eyes.  
“Are you okay? You’re not feeling bad, aren’t you? Want to take a break?”  
Chiaki is so good, always so concerned about his health, always concerned about anything. Eichi takes a few more steps and he wishes he could take him by his arm, but his hands are starting to be too busy holding all that food and toys for the little guest on Chiaki’s arms that uh, he has to give up on the idea.  
“I’m fine. I’m quite enjoyining it, to be honest,” and his smile is genuine, provoked by a happiness that he can feel blooming in his chest. He notices the hint of red on Chiaki’s cheeks, and the first thought that crosses Eichi’s mind is to bite them, but he restrains.   
Eichi is about to say something, but the sudden laugh coming from little Chiaki’s mouth startles him, and makes him lose his words. 

The woman in front of them keeps bowing, her eyes filled with tears of joy while her Satoru - so the child is called - hugs the giant bear plush Eichi bought for him to make him stop crying when he felt lost without her beloved mother. They wave their hands as Eichi and Chiaki turns their back - Satoru smiles and thanks them with a smile so bright and cute that Eichi feels blessed.  
“You look happy.”  
“I am.” Eichi sits on the first bench he finds, resting his elbows on his thighs and sighing. “A bit worn out, but happy.”  
Chiaki sits at his side, his arm stretched over the seatback of the bench and bends his head to look at the sky. Eichi looks at him instead, at the nice line of his jaw, his neck slightly tanned that sinks in the fabric of his yukata. “It’s my first festival,” he says, without thinking too much.   
And Chiaki raises his head and looks at him, in shock.  
“Your first one?”  
“I’ve never put a foot outside my home if not for going to the hospital, or school. I tried to escape several times, but my parents always found it out. Once, I was confined in my room for a week.” He was sure Chiaki would have laughed at him, but it looks like he has forgotten who has beside him. Chiaki tilts his head a bit, looking at him in surprise, and a bit of concern. “I shouldn’t be here even today, you know. I just persuaded Keito to give me a break.”  
“It’s sad.”  
“Sometimes. But I’m happy now.”  
Eichi is starting to have fun, teasing that guy that much, because Chiaki’s cheeks are turning red again, for a second time in less than a hour, and it’s fun, amusing, a little flattering. He raises his hand, without thinking too much - he just want to touch that cheek, feel its hotness against his fingers and-  
“Eichi! I looked for you anywhere!”  
Ah. Keito. Keito and his good timing, Keito the dream ruiner, just like an alarm clock set at six in the morning for mistake. His hands falls back on the bench as he turns towards his friend, a plastic smile on his face to hide a bit of disappointment.  
“Ah, here you are.”  
“ _Here you are_ my foot, Eichi. You made me sick worried. What if-”  
“I’m fine, Keito. Chiaki took care of me.” and it’s fun, how Keito seems to realise that Eichi is not alone. Chiaki waves his hand, laughing a bit too loud. His face is even redder now, and that makes Eichi wonder why Keito couldn’t wait a couple of minutes more. But well, the damage is done now, so the only think he can do now is standing up, and thanking Chiaki properly. So he smiles, leaving some food on Chiaki’s lap.  
“See you around, hero of Justice.” he says, and before Chiaki can answer back, Eichi bends a bit and brushes that red cheek with his lips.   
The shocked expression on his face is something Eichi will hardly forget.


End file.
